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Every now and then, I get an e-mail message from a faith-based organization like Texas Impact, Texas Freedom Network, Austin-Area Interreligious Ministries, or Soul Force asking if our church will endorse an effort or event they are sponsoring. Some are organizations our church already supports, some are organizations that church members support financially or through the investment of their time and talent, and others are organizations I support in the course of my ministry.
For those of you unfamiliar with these organizations, here's a quick rundown of what they do. Texas Impact keeps a close eye on the Texas legislature and our state budget, advocates for justice on behalf of the state's most vulnerable and disadvantaged residents, and provides helpful resources to churches committed to promoting justice. Texas Freedom Network works to maintain a separation between church and state, for example, opposing attempts to make public school textbooks reflect Christian fundamentalist doctrines on issues like creation and human sexuality. Austin-Area Interreligious Ministries fosters interfaith dialogue between diverse faith communities, sponsors public forums and worship events, and organizes outreach ministries like Hands-On Housing. Soul Force promotes justice for gays and lesbians within faith communities.
Several times a year, I receive requests from these groups asking our church to endorse a special effort or event they are sponsoring. Several weeks after receiving these requests, I often read a press release, brochure, or flyer announcing the effort or event with a list of the faith communities endorsing it. Our church is always absent from the list.
One problem is that until recently, our church had no institutional mechanism with which to respond to these endorsement requests. The organization requesting the endorsement often needs a response within a week or so, and our next scheduled meeting of the Coordinating Council is often several weeks away. At our most recent Coordinating Council meeting, the Council considered this issue and decided to develop a mechanism for considering these endorsement requests.
Let's say Texas Impact asks our church to endorse a public effort to "clean-up" Texas politics by publicly endorsing a plan to close loopholes that enable corporate donors and the wealthiest citizens to skew the legislative process in their favor by pumping large amounts of cash into the legislative chamber. After receiving the request for our church's endorsement, I will send the request to our membership via e-mail and ask for your thoughts on the matter. If you don't have e-mail but would like to be included, we can make other arrangements to contact you.
When you respond, you can offer a simple yes or no, or you can argue your case. You may argue that limiting the ability of the most powerful/wealthy to dominate the political process, and creating more room for the less powerful/wealthy to influence the process, is consistent with Biblical values and our church's vision of justice. Or you may argue that our church has no business getting involved in political finance reform. After receiving the responses, I'll share the results with the Coordinating Council and together we'll make a decision.
Some of you may wonder: why should we even consider endorsing a public effort or event? Speaking for myself, and I believe accurately representing the Coordinating Council's view on the matter: because endorsing efforts and events that are consistent with our church's faith, vision, and ministry will give our church a public voice in support of what we hope for, pray for, and work for in our common life as Christian disciples. It will further engage us with the life of the larger community, and it will communicate our convictions to the larger community. But remaining true to our Congregational identity and polity, the endorsement will be made only if the congregation supports it.
SABBATH READINGS, REFLECTIONS, AND PRACTICES
Several months ago, I preached a sermon on Sabbath observance and practice. The lesson for the day was the story in Luke's Gospel where Jesus heals a crippled woman (13: 10-17), though I incorporated a number of Sabbath accounts from Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. At the end of the sermon, I challenged our congregation to reflect on ways we could more faithfully and creatively incorporate Sabbath observance and practice into our communal and personal lives.
I've been pleased that all the Boards have struggled with the issue of Sabbath observance and practice, and that some folks have taken a real interest in the Sabbath as holy time and enacted justice. After the New Year, I'm going to gather with all interested parties to pursue the Sabbath issue some more. We'll gather with several readings as our guides. One will be Abraham Joshua Heschel's book, The Sabbath, and the other readings will include excerpts from Ched Myers, The Biblical Vision of Sabbath Economics. If you think you're interested, go ahead and purchase Heschel's book (just over 100 pages in length and around $12.00). I'll provide the Myers readings. Keep your eyes and ears open for meeting dates.
SPECIAL ADVENT GATHERINGS
Candlelight Service, Christmas Pageant, and Special Mid-week Day-time Service
This year we have three special Advent gatherings planned, two of them long-standing traditions and one of them new. As for the traditional gatherings, we'll gather on the evening of Sunday, December 19, for our Candlelight Service followed by the party hosted by Pat and Mel Oakes at their home. That morning, during worship, the youth will treat the congregation to this year's Christmas pageant. As for the new gathering, we're planning a special mid-week worship service and luncheon on Wednesday, December 15. For this service, we're making a special effort to bring together homebound folks and others who usually don't make it to church on Sunday morning, along with other folks who do make it most Sundays. We'll celebrate communion, sing, pray, and enjoy a simple lunch.
From the Board of Deacons
Our church has a wonderful welcoming tradition of voting to accept new members on the day that they join. Recently, the Deacons have realized that there has been a slight misunderstanding of the church's bylaws regarding this practice that has made the scheduling of reception of new members more difficult. The understanding has been that the church has to call a congregational meeting for this vote. This would mean we have to give a one-week notice in advance of such a meeting. (Most congregational meetings require a one-week notice, as specified in Article II, Section 1.) The problem has been that the advance notice requirement has made it difficult to schedule days for new members to join, since we try to find days when several people can join together. It is often much harder to coordinate schedules in time to call a meeting in advance, and that means people who want to join often wait (patiently) quite awhile for the right day when Tom can get people on the schedule and the meeting called on time. This has been compounded by the fact that many of us thought we needed a two-week advance notice of the meeting until we looked closely at the by-laws. Since we do want to grow in membership and we also value our practice of having a welcoming vote for new members, it seemed that we had a problem we needed to fix.
In fact, we have found that the by-laws do not require a congregational meeting to accept people into membership. Instead, they require (Article I, Section 2-4) a meeting with the pastor, a request for membership with the Deacons indicating that prospective members agree with the purposes of the church and support the church's covenant, an announcement by the Deacons that the previous steps have been taken, and an affirmation by the congregation that the candidate(s) for membership be accepted into the congregation. Following that affirmation, there is to be a formal rite of membership celebration during the church service within 30 days. In practice, we have prospective members meet with the Deacons together with Tom for an orientation and discussion, we hold the celebration of membership the same day that we affirm the acceptance of new members, and our congregational vote at the beginning of worship that day serves as the affirmation. In the Congregational spirit, we want to share the process for all to understand, particularly since we believe many of us think (as we did) that advance notice of a meeting is required for days when new members join. Problem solved!
Freeze Night Donations Needed
During the course of the winter, the Outreach Board requests donations of food items that are appropriate for serving at the Freeze Night shelter. Most needed are large, all-in-one meals like casseroles or lasagnas that can be frozen and then heated up for dinner (we serve up to 15 guests). Instant hot-cocoa, chips and snacks, juice, cookies, etc. are also needed. We also like to give out new socks and underwear to our guests. Please bring these items to church in a bag identified as Freeze Night donations.
No Christmas Dinner This Year!! Pies and Socks Instead
Christmas this year falls on a Saturday, which is the day the University Methodist church serves their very-well-attended (150 guests!) weekly meal. Instead of trying to compete with our own meal, the Outreach Board had decided to team up with the Methodist church to make their meal a bit more festive. We are asking our members to bake or purchase pies - we'll need a minimum of 20 - which we will serve at the Methodist church meal. Christmas cookies would be great as well. In addition, we would like to hand out a fresh pair of socks to all guests - so please donate a package of socks too. These items should be dropped off at church from Sunday, December 19 to Thursday, December 23. Those who are interested in participating in serving at the Methodist church on Christmas should contact Robin Chapman. Our own Christmas meal will resume next year.
DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS
1 Sarah Moore
3 Sally E. Tomasek
6 Lisa Miriam Kirch
7 Jeffrey Lemley
8 Robin Rosson
10 Hester Novotny
12 Jennie Peet Ashton
Sarah Clarissa Kirch
13 Carol Ann Burlinson
Audrey Loomis
14 Jake Burlinson
15 Sara Ross
Gedeon Karasi Bukasa
20 Carol Barrett
28 Larissa Pickens
29 Lynn Loomis
30 Mouloud Randal Sennour
Our wonderful choir members were part of a 90+ choir which presented John Rutter's Requiem on All Saints Sunday, Nov. 7, at University Christian Church. The combined choirs of the Alliance of Baptists, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ worked together as a part of an ecumenical partnership. Proportionally, our church was incredibly well-represented--both in the choir and in the audience. Thanks to choir director Nodie Murphy for getting our group together--Cathy Hubbs, Carol Burlinson, Sara Ross, Mathis Blackstock, Joe McMillan, Chester Rosson, Fran and Rambie Briggs, and Becca Zwerling. The beautiful, uplifting music was dedicated to the memory of the 24,000 people who die every day from hunger or hunger-related causes.
Everyone was happy to see Nancy Brown back in church on Nov. 7th--and then to see her again at the concert in the afternoon. Nancy is looking good and feeling better every day as she recuperates from her recent surgery.
Rizer Everett was among the many in our church who enjoyed all the playoff baseball games and He was very glad to see the Red Sox win the World Series. On Oct. 23, he attended the 90th birthday party for one of Hildegard's first cousins. At the time he and Hildegard were married in June of 1938, she had 52 first cousins, but now there are probably less than forty still living. He is continuing to enjoy LAMP classes (Learning Activities for Mature People). One that received much attention was entitled "Why Lawyers (and the Rest of Us) Lie." He has enjoyed watching golf and hearing a talk at the Bureau of Economic Geology.
Charles P. "Chuck" Ross passed away on October 25. Dave and Sara want to thank all of you for your prayers and concern. Dave's brother was truly a man of honor and compassion, as his daughter Sherry wrote in the published obituary. His family, about 15 of them including grandchildren, gathered on Friday the 28th for an evening of toasts, stories, and reminiscences, which brought them all closer together - there was laughter amid the tears, which is as it should be.
Nannette Strickland says hello to one and all. She is continuing to work very hard as a math teacher at Kealing Middle School and rarely makes it to church. We miss you, Nannette.
Marilyn Gaddis and George Carruthers sailed from Houston on October 9th for a 7 day cruise aboard the Norwegian Sea. They were joined by George's Air Force buddy and wife from Paradise, CA. They enjoyed snorkeling off Cozumel and a ride in a semi-submersible boat out of Roatan to view the beautiful tropical fish. A motor launch ride on the Olde Belize River provided an opportunity to hear black howler monkeys and to visit a community baboon sanctuary. Near Cancun, they were able to see the famous Tulum Mayan ruins. The weather was warm and sunny and the ship's food was delicious!
Richard Jackson and Mary Sinclair spent a couple of weeks in Canada visiting family and friends. They spent a week in Hamilton with the family and then drove to Ottawa to visit old friends. The weather was great and the fall colors were magnificent. Mary didn't realize how she missed the change of seasons in Austin. After a weekend in Ottawa, they drove on to Quebec City for a conference. Mary had a great time wandering the old town and practicing her Quebecois and she and Richard enjoyed dinners with old friends and new. They dined with one couple they hadn't seen since before they were married. The couple had sent them a five gallon bucket of their own honey as a wedding present and it was the best honey they'd ever tasted! Unfortunately, they had just returned home to Boulder when Mary got word that her brother-in-law, Bob, had died suddenly of an apparent heart attack, so Mary headed back to Hamilton for his funeral. He was only 58 and newly retired. He and her sister, Elizabeth, were married for only 7 years but they were very happy together and looking forward to years of golf and travelling. Please keep Elizabeth in your prayers.
The Briggs are sad that their son Jonathan and his wife Bethany have separated. They are working out the details together and trying to support their daughter Margit in her emotional adjustment. Fran and Rambie are planning to be in North Carolina this year for the annual Nutcracker performance. Margit will dance two roles this year, and Jonathan will again be Mother Ginger.
Mary Charles Williams had a lovely 3 week visit in England with her daughter Meredith and son-in-law Graham and their cat Gainesborough. Their boat was in dry dock, so they did not get to sail in the Channel, but Mary Charles met lots of their friends and just generally relaxed. She enjoyed getting acquainted with their gardener who used to be the first officer on the Queen's yacht. Mary Charles does not know how good a first officer he was, but she reports that he is an excellent gardener.
Many thanks to Ricky Masters, who used his electrical skills to make some necessary repairs at the church. As John and Eleanor Towery's grandson, Ricky has been a part of the church all of his life. Speaking of John Towery, the tennis group (which has played together for many years and includes several members of the church) was delighted to see John back on the tennis court in mid-November. John has been struggling with bursitis in his hip and has finally started to see some improvement.
Bee Polmé Weiss and her husband Milt enjoyed a trip to Norway in October. The purpose of the trip was to visit Bee's daughter Carole Marie and her family and to hear Carole Marie play as violin soloist with the Stavanger Symphony in the Brandenburg Concerto #2. In addition to that concert, they also attended a chamber music concert in which Carole's husband Harald Grimsrud was a soloist (also violin). They were gone for 12 days, and other than catching bad colds, they had a good time. Bee started a new round of chemotherapy in mid-November. Instead of "poor me-ing," Bee is thinking positively and is planning a performance for the Wednesday Morning Music club on March 2 for their annual pops concert. She and 2 others will be playing the steel drums!
Marilyn Harris, former cellist at the church and another of Bee's daughters, is getting settled in her new digs after moving back to Austin from California. She has retired from the cello business and is looking for a job. If you have any ideas, give her a call at 821-0385.
Julia Adams and Sara Kirch had a great time at Halloween. Julia was an Indian princess (in a wonderful costume made by her mom Kerry) and Sarah was a fairy a la "A Midsummer's Night Dream." Lisa took them in their costumes to a symphony concert downtown and then to the Austin Museum of Art. A few nights later Sarah and Julia were taken (in costume) by Lisa to "Boo at the Zoo" where they also had a wonderful time--even when a goat at the zoo tugged a leaf (an artificial one) off of Sarah's wand and tried to eat it. Lisa is continuing her job search. We are thinking of you, Lisa!
Frances Alford loved seeing her seven quilts up at the prestigious Houston International Quilt Show and has lots of pictures of herself and her sisters standing in front of them. Four of the five Holliday sisters were there for the occasion. Her sister, art quilter Sallie Holliday, was named one of the five finalists in the Tiara Parade and Style Show, an event which started informally several years ago just for fun and now involves about 50 art quilters--including Frances. Queen Sallie sported a handmade tiara which included doll hair, vintage aluminum permanent wave rollers, multi-colored pompoms, golden fur clusters and the package from a Gayla Bobby Pins package. She made this herself in honor of the era when she herself was a Houston resident.
Pam Tucker is pretty amazing. She hosted the trustees meeting on Wednesday evening, the 10th of November, and then gave birth according to plan on November 12th to Harrison Vee Tucker who weighed in at 8 pounds and 11 ounces. Mom and baby are doing fine, and big sister Savanna is beginning to make that big adjustment to being a sibling.
Liz Spencer's husband Bill is now recuperating from kidney stone surgery. Liz called in to say that she would not be at the November deacons meeting as she was taking Bill to the emergency room since he was in great pain. The diagnosis was made, the surgery done, and he was home in 2 days.
At the Visitor deadline in mid-November, Pat Oakes' mom was still living, but was not expected to live much longer. Pat and her 3 siblings have been making trips to North Carolina to help with her care. Lois expressed the wish to die at home, and they were trying to honor that wish. Pat's 88-year-old dad was coping as well as could be expected, under the circumstances.
Friday, January 7th Melanie Wilkinson and Terry Heller are combining talents again for an "end of Christmas" concert. Festivities will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a light dinner. After the concert we will consume cookies and/or fruit and draw numbers to exchange gifts. (Please keep the gift cost under $5,) The donations collected at the concert will benefit Melanie and Huston-Tillotson College.
REFLECTIONS ON OUR MISSION TRIP TO REYNOSA
On the weekend of October 30, Cecile Adam, Matt Blackstock, Fran and Rambie Briggs, John Goff, Lynne and Jeff Lemley, Ben White, Becca Zwerling, and I traveled to Edinburg, Texas, met with with Ed and Ninfa Krueger, and with Ed went over the border to Reynosa, Mexico. Ed and Ninfa lead the two border ministries, BARCA and Comite de Apoyo, and they'll be the recipients of the South Central Conference's reverse offering.
The goal of our trip was to introduce more folks in our church to Ed and Ninfa, and to explore possibilities for creating a long-term relationship with these two projects. In my view, we accomplished both of these goals. The folks from our church met not only Ed and Ninfa, but Mexican workers and their families who showed us incredible hospitality and shared stories from their lives. In terms of an on-going relationship, Ed has invited me to serve on the Comite de Apoyo's Board of Directors, which will enable our church to maintain a close contact and working relationship with not only Ed, but with workers, human rights promoters, and labor organizers on the other side of the border. A next step may be to spend more time with Ninfa, and to visit a colonia on the Texas side of the border.
What follows are reflections from the trip that John, Fran, Ben, and Becca have generously decided to share with you. Perhaps after reading them you'll decide that you want to be part of the next group that travels to the border.
--TOM
The chairs are what I will remember most about the Primero de Mayo colonia (i.e., a shanty town) of Reynosa, Mexico. Our group of ten white, rich Norte Americanos braved ourselves to walk the dirt, heavily pitted streets of a neighborhood housing the poorest of the poor. We were guided by Ed Krueger, a UCC minister in his 70's who knows this colonia very well; in a very real sense this is his neighborhood. A Norte Americano like us, his ministry consists mainly of walking these dirt roads, talking and listening to the people who live here, sparking them to organize, to know their rights, to assert those rights in nonviolent ways. His plan for us was deceptively simple: to walk us around the colonia and talk to those we met. We strode by a wooden shack with a small dirt yard fenced by the omnipresent crate palettes (donated by the maquilladora companies for shanty home construction), and a woman and her teenage son watched this crowd of strangers walk by. The woman, Maria Luisa, smiled at us and tentative greetings were exchanged (some of us trying to dust off our rusty Spanish). Catalyzed by a few questions from Ed, we soon learned much of this woman's life. She was fired a while back because her sight is growing poor. She has cataracts. She cannot pay to get them fixed, and cannot get a new job because of her poor sight. Fortunately her son, whom she eyed with obvious pride, will begin work soon for one of the maquilladoras as a janitor, and with it will come health care for those who depend upon his meager salary for their living. But there was something wrong with this conversation: we were outside her fence, separated by a physical and cultural divide. We were soon exhorted to step inside her fence, where we could shake hands and mingle. And then the chairs were brought out: old kitchen chairs, duct taped where the vinyl had torn, and obviously the best furniture they had to offer us to sit on. We Norte Americanos looked at each other with rather obvious discomfort. Weren't WE the ones coming down here to provide assistance to THEM? We're all rich and advantaged, living in great comfort. The least we can do is stand on our feet for a while; sitting in those chairs felt like we were taking something from them, when our whole purpose here was to do the opposite. But, then, look at us: ten pale gringos, travelers far from home walking the dirt streets of a strange land. This woman and her son provide a simple act of kindness: a brief respite during our journey. Instinctively we knew that to refuse this offer would be deeply insulting. Tentatively, we sat. And so it went throughout the morning: greetings were exchanged, invitations were made to enter yards, and chairs were put out for us to sit upon. We met several families and heard their stories: stories about migrating from their homes in the Mexican interior, where the jobs pay a pittance; stories about clearing the brush and battling snakes to make a small plot of land for a home; stories of new economic opportunity; stories of working with a toxic soup of chemicals with inadequate protection; stories of health problems and firings; stories of small but growing successes in applying Mexican labor laws. It was hard to soak it all up, but those chairs will stay with me. Offered as simple acts of hospitality, to me they were much more. In sitting in those chairs, in accepting these offers, we were transformed from well-meaning strangers into guests. Those chairs altered our relationship with the maquilladora workers and their families from being distant benefactors into partners in the struggle for economic justice. The next time I visit Reynosa, I will gladly take the seat that is offered to me.
--John Goff
Some of your church friends made a journey beginning on October 29th to Edinburg, Texas and Reynosa, Mexico. It is a trip of about 300 miles, but it was a journey to another world--a world of scarcity and poverty most cannot even imagine. Those who made this incredible journey were Pastor Tom Vandestadt, Matt Blackstock, Cecile Adam, Ben White, Lynne and Jeffrey Lemley, John Goff, Becca Zwerling, Fran and Rambie Briggs. Our church and all the churches in South Central Conference are supporting the mission and ministry of Ed and Ninfa Krueger in Edinburg and Reynosa.
On Friday evening we met with the Kruegers. Ed is a UCC minister and missionary now retired from the American Friends Service Committee. Ninfa currently works with a group which she organized called "BARCA" which helps immigrants and refugees from Central America. Many are in detention because of illegal immigration. Ed does community organizing for an organization which he founded called "Comite de Apoyo" which helps mostly women workers employed in the maquilladora factories in Reynosa to understand their legal rights and ask for better working conditions. Because Rambie asked about their work for the American Friends Service Committee in Chile, they talked at dinner about their years there during the Pinochet dictatorship. Then Ed gave us an introduction to his current work and talked about some of the women we would meet on Saturday.
Saturday morning we crossed the three-mile bridge into Mexico in a rented van with John Goff driving. Most of the traffic was going east. First we drove around the factory area, one plant after another, many of them new. A short distance away was the colonia where the workers live. There are no paved roads. The dirt is packed hard and deeply rutted. One can only imagine what it must be like when it rains. There is no running water, no sewer, and no electricity.
One of the families we met talked about clearing the land when they came. The underbrush was thick, and there were lots of snakes. They removed the brush even though they were scratched by the thorns and scared by the snakes. This family consists of two sisters, their husbands, and children. They have two houses which are better constructed than most, made of plyboard panels with windows and a tin roof. Most of the houses are constructed of loading pallets and scrap lumber. One of these men worked in the construction trade before coming here, but he said it was uncertain work and poorly paid. He now walks to work, a distance of several miles, and works 3:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. He got up in order to talk to us.
Ed said he does his work by walking around the colonias talking to people. They call him "gringo loco." He organizes meetings where people are instructed about labor law and educated about the hazardous chemicals used in many of the plants. The women may choose a spokesperson from the group, and they role play how they might ask for better conditions. He recounts some victories--stools for the workers in one instance, somewhat better pay in another, and some improvement in safety. One of the consequences of our group walking around was a conversation with a woman whom Ed had not met--Maria Luisa--who has cataracts caused by the work she did with inadequate eye protection. Now she is unemployable. She cannot get a cataract operation because without work she has no health insurance. This is the sort of story we heard over and over again.
Our experience was greatly enhanced by the ability of several in the group to speak fluent Spanish. People were eager to meet us and to tell their stories. We were humbled by the hospitality we received and by their willingness to engage us in conversation. What is the result of our trip? Tom has agreed to serve on the Comite de Apoyo board. All of us feel privileged to have met these people who are struggling every day against great odds to live and to work. We will all pray for justice; we will educate ourselves further on the issues; and we will advocate for change wherever we can.
--Fran Briggs
Our guide on our large van trip to the barrios west of Reynosa and the maquiladoras was Ed Krueger, longtime resident of Edinburg and participant in Comité de Apoyo. He led our group of ten into the barrios and right up to the front yards of strangers and old friends alike with perfect ease. His reputation for fairness and justice and willingness to help made us all welcome to pull up a chair and hear interesting stories of people who have worked in these largely U.S.-owned factories.
Marialuisa, a fortyish apparently single mom of teenager Julio and five-year-old Sergio, told of how she was laid off due to visual problems related to cataracts, unable to get government assistance since employment is essential for eligibility. Catch 22: No work, no treatment -- no treatment, no work. Fortunately Julio goes to work next month as a janitor, so Sergio and mom are not without hope.
Ed explained how the Comité helps. Emphasis is on non-violence, thorough education on Mexican labor law, and instruction in techniques for dealing with bullying and unfair treatment by bosses. Forty-seven dollars for forty hours work doesn't sound like a lot of money, but if it's all you have coming in, preservation of the job has to be the first consideration.
Our new friends in the barrios show pride in their clean-swept front yards, with bouganvillas all around. No beggars or gum salesmen among the youngsters. They wanted to chat with the strangers and show off their crayons and their ability to count!
We came away with admiration for people who do so much for themselves with very little, and we felt we had been offered an opportunity to help where incredible groundwork had been laid and possibilities are enormous.
--Ben White
My experience in the Primero de Mayo colonia of Reynosa, Mexico was filled with juxtapositions. As I heard the stories of some of the neighborhood residents and saw the substandard conditions in which they're living, I was struck by each person's wealth of spirit amidst the material poverty, and feeling of empowerment in a time of exploitation. Many of the people who spoke to us shared their gratitude for having moved from Vera Cruz, which, according to them, is an area of the country that offers very few job prospects and is fraught with natural disasters that make life there unsustainable. On the other hand, in Reynosa the possibility of stable employment, steady wages, and a portion of land for each family encourages some to settle there. I found compelling the fact that Maria Luisa, who developed cataracts during her tenure at a Corning factory, remains hopeful as her oldest son begins a job as custodian for TI Group. In another family, even as Jorge returns home to his wife and young children in the early morning hours from his shift at the Andrew plant, he expresses his eagerness to study Mexican labor law.
With the peaceful presence of Ed and Ninfa Krueger, organizers of Comite de Apoyo and BARCA, people in the Primero de Mayo colonia and the surrounding areas across the border can feel empowered by peacefully and unrelentingly demanding their rights from the maquiladora management that exploits them. Maria de la Luz lives with the cancer caused by her exposure to carcinogens while employed for 13 years at Delphi (a subsidiary of GM). She faces the reality of unemployment and refusal by the government to cover her medical insurance. Despite these obstacles, she continues to pursue a lawsuit against her former employer after the three years during which her lawyers have disregarded her case. Paulina, who worked for Zenith for many years and began learning Mexican labor law from Ed in 1979, now visits women in their homes, and teaches them about workers' rights, adapting her message to the time they have available. As I vividly recall the many flimsy houses built from used plywood, cardboard and other scraps, I remember, too, the strength of the community's spirit. As I think about the absence of basic utilities such as running water and sewage systems, I consider the presence of neighbors' warmth, care, and concern for one another. I am touched by the convictions of Ed, Ninfa, and all of their mentees as they work for justice, hope and progress. What an honor to witness the richness of the human spirit and the optimistic outlook of so many!
--Becca Zwerling
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Get Your Act Together!
Yes, it's back by popular demand--the CCA Talent Show! We raise money for a good cause while having a great time. Mark your calendars for 6 p.m., Sunday, February 6, 2005--and start practicing!
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We pray, as parents, that our children will seek positive relationships when they branch out from the safety of their home. Naturally, my husband and I were delighted when Jeri joined a church upon arriving in Austin. We did not know how much we would come to appreciate the support and love that this church would give to our child.
You, the church, offered her safe haven when necessary, advice when sought, a sense of community in a foreign place, opportunity to spiritually grow and encouragement to use her gifts in service. Further, when she hit rough times, you extended your love across the miles to her home in Freeport. You helped her to understand her value and that was a priceless healing tool.
Jeri has completed her studies at UT and will be going back to Illinois. We, her family, will be hosting a thank you/graduation celebration/goodbye party on December 20, 2004 in the Fellowship Hall of the church. We hope you can all come and let us thank you personally. It will be from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm with a dinner buffet. Hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
Kem and Jerry Winter
New address and phone:
Andrea & Karl Putz
540 N. Lake Shore Dr. #206
Chicago, IL 60611
312-661-1822
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